Sink rim



Oct. 10, 1950 c. WEST 2,525,161

SINK RIM Filed Sept. s, 1946 Patented Oct. 10, 1950 SINK RIM Clarence West, Oak Park, Ill., assignor of onehalf to Grant Gillam, Chicago, Ill.

Application September 3, 1946, Serial No. 694,633

3 Claims.

This invention relates to a sink rim for use with that type of kitchen sink which has an outwardly extending flange for supporting thesame on the adjacent working top portionsv of kitchen cabinets, the rim being in the nature of a metal finishing strip between the rim of the sink and the linoleum or other composition material used as a covering on the working top.

It has heretofore been proposed to provide such finishing strips of various forms designed to be fastened in various ways, some, for example, being of generally T-shaped section fastened by the vertical leg of the T to the side of the working top portion of the cabinet, and others, for example, being likewise of T-shaped section designed to be fastened from beneath'by screws threading into the leg of the T. However, all of these'prior constructions were objectionable not only because'they usually failed to'clamp the edge portion of the linoleum cover tightly enough to eliminate likelihood of water finding its way and to the adjacent linoleum covering on the working top portion of a kitchen cabinet, and

1 Fig; 2'is a plan view'of the strip on smaller scale. The same reference numerals are applied to corresponding parts in these two views.

The wooden working top portion of a kitchen cabinet is designated generally by the reference behind the finishing strip and eventually causing the rotting of the wood therebeneath, but also because of the fact that these strips could not be used universally but were limited to use where there was easy access to the underside of the working top of the cabinet or to such applications where the sink-itself was specially designed to afford access to the side of the working top for the fastening of the strip. It is, therefore, the principal object of my invention to provide a fin;- ishing strip of new design and constructionwhich is substantially universally usable because it can be applied entirely from the top and which also avoids the other objections mentioned because in its application from the top there is reasonably good assurance that the workman will not find it too difficult or awkward *to tighten the screws tightly enough to eliminate or drastically reduce the water leakage behind the strip. A

numeral 3 has an edge portion rabbeted, as indicated at 4, to accommodate the flange 5 of a metal kitchen sink 6 for support of the sink in closely spaced relation to the working top 7 which is formed by a covering of linoleum or some other suitable material. The drain board portion on the other end of the sink, of course, has a similar flange supported on an adjacent working top portion of a kitchen cabinet in a similar way, and it is not deemed necessary therefore to illustrate more than the one end. The finishing strip of my invention is indicated at 8 and is of extruded'aluminum, T-shaped in crosssection, the legof the T being defined by a longitudinally extending rib 9 and the two arms of novel feature of the present strip is also the use of closure plugs of aluminum to match the aluminum used in the strip itself, which can be easily driven into the sockets provided in the strips at the screw holes, whereby to conceal the screws and give a truly neat and attractive appearance, with-out making it too difficult to get at the screws if it should later be necessary for any reason to remove the strip, because the plugs can easily be drilled out.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which Fig. 1 is a cross-section through a finishing strip made in accordance with my invention showing its application to the rim portion of a sink tending flanges Ill and II. The rib 9 extends downinto the rabbet 4 between the rim of the sink and the adjacent edge portion of the working top cover 1 and has a series of longitudinally spaced holes or sockets I2 provided therein in the bottom of which are holes I? adapted to receive wood screws I lv for fastening the strip 8 to .the working top portion 3 of the kitchen cabinet.

It is important to note that these screws M are entered from the top and that the workman can do this with much greater ease and facility than he could, for example, if he had to work from below'the working top portion 3, or even from the side. For one thing it is clear that he can press downwardly with a screw driver with sufiicient force to insure the desired tight fit of the flange I0 on the edge portion of the linoleum cover 1 to reduce to a minimum, if not entirely eliminate, the highly objectionable water leakage behind the strip, it being obvious that such leakage ultimately results in rotting of the wood and the deterioration of the adjacent edge portion of the linoleum cover, and in many cases such leakage has necessitated the replacement of linoleum top covers and other repairs at considerable expense with only a fraction of the service which the purchaser would otherwise get. The other flange l! is preferably longitudinally grooved, as indicated at It and I6, to lend the desired degree of flexibility so that the flange will conform itself neatly to the surface of the sink rim and so that putty or any other similar plastic sealing compound, indicated at 17, may be placed between the parts to seal this joint against water leakage. So far as I am aware, other structures have not made any provision for sealing against water leakage at this importantjoint.

Aluminum plugs 18 of cylindrical form are entered with a drive fit in the sockets .12 to conceal the heads of the screws l4 and give the strip a truly neat and attractive appearance, there being no fastening means visible, and the plugs themselves being hardly noticeable especially when they are driven in flush with the top of the strip or have their protruding upper ends filed off neatly in flush relation to the top of .thestrip. These plugs may, however, be easily drilled out should it become necessary later to remove the strip, for any reason, as for example, in the event a new sink is installed or other remodeling or repair work is being done.

It is believed the foregoing description conveys a good understanding of the objects and advantages of my invention. The appended claims have been drawn to cover all legitimate modifications and adaptations.

I claim:

1. In a table top construction, a top member having a sink opening provided therein, the top member being rabbeted on the top at the opening, covering material overlying said top member up to the rabbet, a finishing strip of T- shaped cross-section disposed over the top member with the vertical leg portion of the T extending into the rabbet, the one flange defining one arm of the T being relatively thin and'arranged overlying and clamping the edge portion of the covering material on the top -member, and the other flange defining the other arm of the T being relatively thick with the top surface thereof fiush with the top surface of the other flange, the same being arranged overlying and clamping a flange on the rim of a sink resting on the rabbeted portion of the top member, said strip having recesses provided therein opening from the top thereof down into the leg portionof the T at longitudinally spaced points and having openings provided in the bottoms of said recesses receiving fastening screws for fastening the strip from above to the rabbeted portion of the top member, and filler means for said recesses.

2. In a table top construction, a top member having a sink opening provided therein, the top member being rabbeted on the top at the opening, covering material overlying said top member up to the rabbet, a finishing strip of T-shaped cross-section disposed over the top member with the vertical leg portion of the T extending into the rabbet, the one flange defining one arm of the T being relatively thin and arranged overlying and clamping the edge portion of the covering material on the top member, and the other flange defining the other arm of the T being relatively thick with the top surface thereof flush with the top surface of the other flange, the same being arranged overlying and clamping a flange on the rim of a sink resting on the rabbeted portion of the top member, said strip having recesses provided therein opening from the top thereof down into the leg portion of the T at longitudinally spaced points andhaving openings provided in the bottoms of said recesses receiving fastening screws for fastening the strip from above to the rabbeted portion of the top .member, and cylindrical plugs entered tightly in said recesses serving to fill the recesses and conceal the fastening screws and having the tops thereof substantially flush with the top of the strip.

3. As an article of manufacture, a metallic finishing strip for use around sink rims and the like, comprising an elongated body of substantially T-shaped cross-section, the two arms of the T comprising flanges for clamping engagement on top of parts disposed therebeneath, and the leg of the T having recesses provided therein in longitudinally spaced relation with respect to the strip opening to-the top'of the strip, the strip furher having openings provided therein in the bottoms of said recesses for the reception of fastening screws, the recesses being of sufiicient diameter to accommodate-the heads of said screws and being adapted to be filled covering the heads of the screws, one of said flanges being thin and tapered downwardly toward the outer edge, and the other flange being relatively thick and tapered downwardly toward the outer edge and having one or more longitudinally extending grooves provided in the bottom thereof adapted to receive plastic sealing material to seal the joint between'the flange and the part disposed therebeneath, the top surfaces of said flanges being flush with oneanother.

CLARENCE WEST.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 918,522 Faller Apr. 20, 1909 1,667,712 Awbrey May 1, 1928 2,116,846 Pilcher May 10, 1938 2,157,786 Coordes May 9, 1939 2,186,684 Ritter Jan. 9, 1940 2,228,186 Thumm Jan. 7, 1941 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 13,998 Australia 1 June 4, 1929 

